By Carly Novell, EIC News
After seven months of deliberating and listening to community testimonies, the District of Columbia’s Police Reform Commission released a report of recommendations to the public and to the City Council on April 1, entitled “Decentering Police to Improve Public Safety.” The 259-page report aims to reduce systemic harm caused by D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, and largely focuses on the interests of local youth, recommending the re-establishment of police-free schools.
“The 20 members of our commission from every profession within the district were represented on our commission,” Commission Chairman Robert Bobb said in a press conference. “Those individuals brought not only compassion and their concern for our district, but also their professionalism and real-life experiences that helped to inform the work of the commission.”
Not only was the commission composed of a diverse membership representing local activist groups, but it also prioritized the testimonies from residents and research from organizations such as Impact Justice and the Advancement Project. The commission’s report emphasized an evidence-based approach for their recommendations and future MPD practices.
In the 90 recommendations made in the report, the commission sought to address public safety concerns by identifying what is working effectively, what should be expanded and gaps in services, policies or practices that are ineffective or harmful to D.C. residents. Ultimately, the commission concluded to realign and reduce the size, responsibilities and budget of the police force.
In July 2020, the Black Student Union at GW began a research partnership with the Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service and the sociology department to recommend reformations to MPD. Beginning in the Fall 2020 semester, the partnership transformed into a federal work-study program and class called Rethinking D.C. Youth and Policing.
“I think it’s important for students to get involved in local government because at least at GW, we are focused on broadly, the federal government as we should be, because we’re in D.C.; but we forget that we are in a community of people who are affected by the local laws, as well and we don’t give, we don’t really give our time enough as a GW community to the D.C. community as a whole,” said Bishop Walton, founder of Rethinking D.C. and BSU Chief of Staff.
Rethinking D.C. presented its findings on April 13 at the GW Research Showcase. The 30 students involved with the organization or enrolled in the class were divided into four cohorts each focusing on a specific topic for their report: school resource officers, Black girls in the juvenile system, the Youth Rehabilitation Act in D.C. and social media advocacy.
“I think over this time, defunding is necessary, not to just take money away, but to put it into different services,” Walton said. “Still, when you say [defund], it’s like a lightning rod and you may not get anything done because people don’t understand what that word means. I think it’s a good step for the commission to make that recommendation while still walking the thin line of defunding the police.”
The commission highlighted the necessity of shifting responsibility from MPD as the sole first responders in crises to behavioral healthcare professionals and other specialists. The report proposes providing community members with support rather than punishment by strengthening D.C.’s social safety net and adopting harm-reduction practices in policing methods.
“We don’t expect these recommendations to be implemented overnight, but we will be involved over the next 30 days and beyond in our meetings with members of the city council, meetings with members of the administration and meetings with members of the community because we believe passionately that our recommendations should be considered seriously and implemented, though some immediately and some over a period of time,” Bobb said. “We’ve recommended a process for that to happen.”
The report also included a section on police accountability, suggesting a deputy auditor for public safety under the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor required to release findings biannually. The commission believes this measure will affect proactive accountability to prevent incidents as well as reactionary accountability in the event of an incident.
